UChicago to host NPR show Wait, Wait… Don’t Tell Me!

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The University of Chicago will host a special free taping of the popular NPR news quiz Wait, Wait… Don’t Tell Me! for UChicago students and the general public. The show will present its first-ever recording on campus at Mandel Hall on January 30 at 7:30 p.m.

“We are so grateful to our campus partners for helping ensure that this exciting event will be free to students as well as the general public,” said Darren Reisberg, executive director of the Institute of Politics. “We know this will be a memorable experience for all those in attendance.”

Current UChicago students will have the first chance to get tickets, starting at 8:00 a.m. on Friday, January 10. Students should come in person to the Logan Center Box Office, 950 E. 60th Street, with their current UChicago student IDs. One ticket will be available for each student with an ID.

Ticket access will open to the general public on Saturday, January 11, starting at 12:00 p.m. Attendees can get tickets online or in person at the Logan Center Box Office, which is open from 12:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. The limit in this phase of ticket distribution is two tickets per person. All of the tickets will be available for free, and seating will be general admission. (Note that although tickets are being distributed through the Logan Center Box Office, the event will take place at Mandel Hall, 1131 E. 57th Street.)

During the UChicago recording of Wait, Wait… Don’t Tell Me!, host Peter Sagal and official judge and scorekeeper Carl Kasell will lead a comedic review of the week’s news. Comedian Faith Salie, author Tom Bodett and humorist Mo Rocca will be the featured panelists for the UChicago recording. A celebrity guest also will help one of the show’s listeners compete for the most coveted prize in public radio: a custom-recorded voicemail greeting by Carl Kasell.

A co-production of NPR News and Chicago Public Media, Wait, Wait… Don’t Tell Me! is one of NPR’s most popular programs, reaching more than 3.3 million radio listeners and 660 NPR member stations with its irreverent review of the week’s news. Now in its 16th year, the show records episodes before a live audience in downtown Chicago and elsewhere around the country. The Chicago production is a popular event for UChicago students, who regularly organize group trips to the show.